i gotta agree, atleast partially, with you Wizeman...i dont thin that most of the bible(and ESPECIALLY revilations) is suposed to be taken 100% literally. i mean, if sombody just came out and was like "I am the anti-christ, worship me", do you honestly think that people, knowing what would happen in the end(damnation to hell), would actually follow him/her?

thats just crazy. and saying that "the mark of the beast" ABSOLUTELY HAS to be "666" on the head/arm/whatever bodyparts you want to name, is also equally counter-intuitive. it would make far more sense for it to be something a little less obvious than that, because people would clearly see that "the end" was near and they better straighten up and fly right or they will get screwed FOREVER.

honestly, that is what agrivates me most about a lot of die-hard christians, they tend to not use their mind, but just read word for word and belive this and that, because thats what it says to believe("it" being the bible/church/whatever). it is in things like this that i see the downfall of humanity, not in carving 666 into your forehead. the way to AVOID falling into the traps of satan/the antichrist/whatever "evil" you want to name, is to use your MIND as well as your heart/belief. i mean, who knows? some parts of the curch could be seen as "political"...perhaps when he comes the antichrist will be a pope. maybe all the blind followers of the church will wind up getting screwed by that. maybe its only the ones who believe, but also think for themselves are the ones that will be saved.